Dancers took to the stage to the tune of raucous crowd cheers, dancing to “HOT” by SEVENTEEN to open the K-Dance Spring Show Friday night. The two-hour show, held in Tech’s Ryan Auditorium, is the result of months of work from the dancers.

Chapter I: A blast from the past

As older K-pop songs reigned throughout this portion of the show, so did K-Dance’s performers.

The show opened with pop-y, bouncy choreography to a rendition of “Candy” by NCT Dream. Decked in fluffy hats, puffers and white mittens, the audience sang along to the dancers on stage.

The Treblemakers, Northwestern’s premier East Asian-interest a cappella group, wowed the audience with their version of a Gee/Focus and BLACKPINK medley. The Treblemakers (which are so much cooler than the ones from Pitch Perfect) never lagged in their energy and have definitely gained at least one new fan!

The fourth dance featured a plethora of dancing machines wearing button-downs and slacks. The audience, which was full of friends of the dancers, cheered loudly, and sang along to the BTS songs that propelled the performance onward.

“I’m so Sick” by Apink called for slower, more sophisticated choreography that lent to an air of goddess-ness from the dancers.

The last dance of this chapter featured a large number of dancers collectively moving around the stage to “Don’t Wanna Cry” by SEVENTEEN. To quote my own notes: “Damn impressive! Woah!!!” My jaw dropped, seriously.

Chapter II: 4th gen girl group special

This chapter featured music from a variety of K-pop girl groups, truly proving that women run the world.

The first dance, an ITZY medley, featured songs like “In the Morning” and “SNEAKERS.” The dancers invoked a sense of military-style precision with their moves in army green, leather and chains.

The next dancers moved to the tune of “Shooting Star'' by IVE. With mini LED flashlights in their hands and the stage lights dimmed, they gave a starry visual to an audience roaring in approval.

For a NewJeans medley, the same five dancers performed the entire combination wearing blazers, button-downs and tennis skirts. Some songs included were “Hype Boy” and “OMG,” but the song “Attention” definitely caught ours.

The last dance was a mashup of æspa’s “Black Mamba” and “Girls” choreography. The four dancers’ floorwork had everyone awestruck, especially their in-sync movements.

Chapter III: Always remembered & new beginnings!

The third chapter of the show consisted of songs from groups that have broken up or are just starting out.

After a short intermission, K-Dance was back with a dance mashup to “Energetic” and “Burn It Up” by Wanna One. Dancers constructed a human piano onstage, and their faced-paced movement left flame marks in their wake.

The “family” dances were next, as groups of about eight to ten dancers brought heat for the next few songs. Then, a group led by Communication second-year Cary Liu and Weinberg third-year Monet Menard performed a crowd favorite to a rendition of an “Industry Baby” cover by KQ Fellaz 2.

The sixth dance of the chapter was a Red Velvet medley. As the audience sang along to, “you got me feeling like a psycho, psycho,” the dancers on stage slayed their moves in red and black attire.

The last dance of this segment consisted of another family, Show Champion, and songs “Left & Right” by SEVENTEEN and “Secret Story of the Swan” by IZ*ONE.

Between chapters three and four, members of K-Dance announced a K-pop Kahoot for members of the audience to play. While Lianna and I definitely did not slay this, others certainly did. There were first, second and third-place winners. It’s possible only at Northwestern that a Kahoot could be so iconic.

Chapter IV: 4th gen boy group special

The fourth chapter opened with my favorite dance of the night. Moving to “Roar” by The Boyz, 11 dancers wore iconic all-black leather ‘fits. As their powerful moves propelled them across the stage (and lowkey incited some bi-panic in my brain), I found myself forgetting to even take notes.

Then, the second guest performers, MINT, wowed the audience with their choreography to a mashup of songs such as “Stay Tonight” by CHUNGHA and “Rover” by KAI. This group seemed incredibly well-practiced and in sync as their isolated movements enunciated the music.

The lighting for this dance was unique as the dancers were backlit to highlight their silhouettes. Bad for Lianna’s photos, but a great effect for the audience!

Dancers performed the second-to-last-dance to “CASE 143” by Stray Kids, as the audience repeated “one, four, three!” back to those on stage. The energetic moves stand out as some of the most involved choreography of the night.

Finally, all of the dancers of the night took to the stage for “FIGHTING” by BSS. The palpable joy in the room was a welcoming relief from the stresses of last week as senior dancers accepted flowers and signed cards from younger members.

Some members were in tears as the show closed, while the audience clapped to the music and cheered. As the audience got up to dance with the performers, the house lights came on and the K-Dance Spring Show of 2023 ended.

At the end of this memorable night (which I never thought I’d say about a night in Tech), Lianna and I walked back to Willard to the tunes of Stray Kids, singing and dancing all the way.

All photos and captions by Lianna Amoruso / North by Northwestern